Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder
by eternal-anime
Summary: Post 2 years! Zoro and Sanji both develop certain feelings for each other during the 2 years, that they didn't know of, but they come to realize them sooner that expected. ZoSan, Yaoi, BxB, fluff!
1. Prologue

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

_**By: Eternal-anime**_

_**Warning: Yaoi=BoyxBoy relationship, don't like, please don't read, mild swearing, and a little OOCness. **_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece **_____

_**This is my first story! Enjoy! **_

_**And without much further ado…**_

_Prologue: _

It has been 2 years…

But really, it hasn't felt that long. Even though he has been stuck in a practical hell for the last pair of years. The thing that kept him going was the longing to meet his crew again, his family. His _nakama..._

Although over those last couple of years, he has noticed that a certain green-haired swordsman kept occupying his thoughts.

At first he didn't notice it much, not really; but eventually those fleeting thoughts began to accumulate, and every time he closed his eyes, the picture of the swordsman came rushing through his mind.

Of course he was worried about him. Last time Sanji saw him, the Marimo was passed out, half dead, and drenched in blood. Sanji was the one that was trying to protect him and get him away from Kuma's destructive power so he felt responsible for the Marimo life. But the moment when Luffy ordered them to meet 3 days later, a feeling deep down in his guts told him that there was no getting away from this now, and that he wouldn't be seeing the rest of the crew anytime soon.

Normally, he wouldn't be this concerned over the grass-head. Of course Sanji is worried about him, for he knew the condition Zoro was left in. But he was completely sure that the swordsman was just that hard to get rid off. He has seen him in plenty of life or death situations, where he put his life on the line for his nakama. For his goal he did the impossible, and he admired him for that, but of course he wouldn't admit this to that shitty-headed swordsman. _Ever_, not to anyone.

But the true thing that he was apprehensive about, and was brought painfully to his attention, was the fact that he rarely thought of any of the other crewmembers. He, Sanji, the now and always ladies man, would normally think that he would be sick worried about his lovely ladies, Nami-swan and Robin-chwan.

Oh, how he missed those glorious, smooth curvy bodies, the soft, pale, and subtle skin. The short soft fluffy hair, especially when they wore those revealing clothes, and oh those bikini tops. He thought he could just get a nosebleed from the thoughts themselves, and probably could. Seriously, just how desperate is he right now?

Yes, that was what he would normally think about the beautiful ladies. But instead, his brain decided to play tricks on him and all he ever thinks about it the stupid, ill mannered, pretentious, Neanderthal, with the marimo hair-seriously _green _hair- with those elaborate, conspicuous muscles, tightly packed on that broad body, with the sweat-

_What was that? _Sanji thought, did he just catch himself checking out the Marimo's body? He just couldn't help himself when he found his eyes drift where they shouldn't be when he caught him in his peripheral vision, training with heavy weights, shirtless, in the nice morning sun, that highlighted his figure and made him look like some Greek god. The swordsman is sexy; he has to admit it, if he thought about it that way.

And that was exactly the problem at hand; every living conscious thing that Sanji ever thought about, always lead to the shit-head. But just _Why_?

So now he was standing on the marina beside the famous fish shop at Sabaody Archipelago, catching the first glimpse of the said swordsman, after 2 years of separation. After the swordsman got on the wrong ship, that he later cut in half. At least his sense of direction didn't change, that's for sure.

And man, did he have this nameless feeling in his gut that he just couldn't put his finger on.

**Thank you for reading so far! Please leave any comments or suggestion in the comment box below! Your feedback really makes my day! **


	2. What the Heart Desires

**Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder**

**By: Eternal-Anime**

**Warning: YAOI, BoyxBoy relationship, if you don't like don't read, fluff, mild swearing.**

**Disclaimer: If I ever own One Piece, I would leave nothing to the imagination, instead of "unleashing my imagination" -****evil grin-**

_Chapter 1:_

_What the Heart Desires:_

Zoro definitely didn't expect this.

What he expected was to see Luffy, Nami, Robin, Franky, or any other crewmate other than Sanji.

But what he saw contradicted his logic. He saw Sanji standing there, with the characteristic cigarette dangling between his lips, leaning on one leg more than the other. When their eyes first met, he noticed the nonchalant bored slightly pissed look. But he also noticed something else in there that he just couldn't place.

Zoro quickly jumped off the sinking ship, that he cut in half. He landed just a few feet away from Sanji, who still had the same look on his face, even if he wasn't exactly delighted to see Sanji first, it was definitely nice to see a familiar face again.

To tell the truth he was kind of happy to see the cook again, he felt a warm feeling tugging on his heart. Occasionally through his training with Mihawk passing thoughts crossed his mind about the crew, and how each of them is doing. Especially that the last time he saw them he was practically bleeding to death, and Sanji was the one helping him.

He blamed it all on his weaknesses. If only he had been strong enough he might have saved his crewmates from Kuma. But back then he was weak, after suffering multiple injuries, that brought him closer to death than he was comfortable with, his body was exhausted and worn out.

But all that has changed. Now he is stronger, after 2 consecutive years of dense training, he is resilient, both physically and mentally. His strength amplified by ten folds, and his mental state now is as stable as ever. He is confident that he can take anything on. Even Sanji.

To say the least, Sanji only changed slightly, personality wise he didn't change in a thing. He was as arrogant, stupid, obsessed, perverted, and as handsome as ever. He was as lean as ever, those long legs that could wrap themselves around your body, and hold you close.

He will not deny that on several occasions he thought of Sanji in such ways, he long ago already came to the conclusion that he was gay, and there was no changing that.

But this was Sanji, his rival in everything, or is it just him covering up his true emotions, camouflaging them so they can go unnoticed. It took a lot of effort to cover his feelings from the crew for years. But he had some suspicions that a certain member knew of his sexual orientation.

Honestly, he hated Sanji's guts. His actions pissed him off. How he treated every woman like a delicate flower, that couldn't do a thing. Honestly, did he have no idea that lots of females out there aren't that impressed by his behavior? Treating them like the lesser sex, not capable of taking care of themselves.

Even though with all these reasons, he still liked the cook. He shared some moments where they for once would sit in the same room without starting a fight, when Sanji sometimes would share a drink with him. These moments were rare, but they were still there, and that made all the difference.

Now that they were standing face-to-face, scowl-to-scowl, waiting for some kind of response, he felt the itch for a fight rise. He honestly missed all the fighting.

"Oi, marimo. Can't you go for a minute without destroying something?" Sanji exclaimed.

"It isn't my fault, they were there and I couldn't get out without cutting the ship in half, it's their fault for being there" Zoro replied

"Baka, can't you tell the difference between a fishing boat and a pirate ship? Or is it too hard for your pea sized brain to process?"

"At least I don't go around drooling on every woman I see, unlike some people," Zoro said, knowing he was practically asking for a fight.

"Are you asking for it? Don't blame me if you end up dead?" Sanji replied smugly, itching for a fight that he hadn't had for 2 years.

"Bring it on cook"

And the fight started, just one of their warm up fights, that they had almost everyday, but this one was different, they were testing each other's strength and comparing it to their own. Acknowledging the improvement in the others strength, they felt the adrenaline bumping into there veins, feeling the nostalgic feeling brushing over them. And the fight continued on.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Now they were in the ship the whole crew reunited, observing eachother's changes over the last couple of years. Some had drastic changes physically-Ussop and Franky- some had just different clothing or hairstyles, some barely changed at all. But they all changed, in one way or the other. 2 years is plenty of time for people to change. Now that they are setting sail to a new beginning, more adventures and experiences waiting to be acquired, a new level of excitement has been reached.

The crew started partying as soon as things got settled down, with no marines or enemies around it was time to start partying. The view was gorgeous from the ship; the underwater world had so many wonders to look at. It was fascinating.

The crew was all laughs, and smiles, each waiting and anxious to share their experiences with the rest of the crew, with beer, and wine, and new dishes that Sanji is trying. The crew was impressed by Sanji's dishes. His food has never been this good, but now it was way beyond words, each bite felt so incredible with exploding aromas and tastes. The food was healthy and delicious, and it restored all your energy.

After Sanji got everything ready for the crew, the food and beer were out. It was his turn to sit back and relax. Listening to the crews stories was entertaining, especially because he hasn't saw them for a long time now.

His eyes kept trailing back to Zoro, every time he tried focusing them on something else, as soon as he took his mind off it, the next thing he knew he would be looking at Zoro again.

Of course he was worried about him the most, his heart for a second longed to be at Zoro's side but he put it aside quickly without giving it much thought, just ignoring it and going back to the party; though little did he know that the said person felt the same way.

"Oi, Sanji! Why are you so quiet, you should join the party!" Luffy yelled from across the room, with chopsticks in his nose, Ussop and Chopper mirroring the undignified action, on the table. But he would let it go just for tonight, it was special after all.

"I am just tired that's all!" He said swinging the bottle of liquor in his mouth, and chugging on it. "Don't worry just enjoy yourself" he put on a grin mirroring Luffy's, but he was careful not to drink too much so he would be able to clear up the plates and cups after the party, he might have Zoro help him too.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

About 4 hours later, it was about 2 am, Nami and Robin already went to bed, and Brook went to the men's quarter, followed by Franky. Ussop, Chopper and Luffy were passed out in the kitchen.

The light sounds of snoring filled room, Sanji after putting the dishes in the sink, decided to wash them in the morning, but for now he was too tired to do anything except for just drinking, kicking back, and enjoying the view. He went outside the kitchen to the deck, the view was gorgeous, there was several flickering lights, from various fish, and there was a really clouded silhouette of the moon, that shown hazily through the crepuscular waters, illuminating any objects in its way, reflecting off the fish scales, making rainbow like effects.

In the moonlight sat Zoro, cross-legged, his face looking calm and serene, for a moment there he looked peaceful. There was a bottle of sake in his hand, he sat there in a daze staring into the horizon, deep in thought, Sanji almost didn't want to disturb this view.

Grabbing his own bottle of wine, he strolled lazily over to Zoro, and sat about a feet away from him. He didn't feel like starting a fight right now, so he just sat there silently.

"So you have been training with Mihawk?" Sanji asked, knowing the answer.

"Yeah" Zoro replied with his gruff baritone voice.

"Must have been hard"

"The means justify the way"

"So you have grown a brain after all"

"Shuddup"

Zoro noticed the slight slur in Sanji's speech; he knew he was drunk, he could smell the alcohol.

"You're drunk, go to sleep" Zoro remarked.

"No I am not, I can hold my liquor just fine"

"Of course" Zoro said sarcastically, yawning loudly at the same time.

"Are you asking for it? But a wuss like _you_ wouldn't stand a chance against me? I can kick your ass into next week" Sanji straightened his posture; he knew he was literally asking for a fight, and he knew that Zoro would give him just that.

"Is that a challenge, crap-cook?" Zoro asked smugly, too itching for a little fight before sleep, slowly getting up.

"What do you think, moss-head?"

"What did you just say curly-brow?"

"You heard me baka-marimo"

Sanji and Zoro were both up now, each preparing for the fight. Zoro's hand was on his swords, ready for any upcoming attacks, Sanji was tapping his foot against the ground.

Sanji quickly lifted his legs in the air, and aimed a kick on Zoro's side. When his foot was a couple of inches away from Zoro's body, the swordsman's death grip caught it. He almost lost his balance and he felt dizzy, knowing that he might fall. He lifted his body of the floor and tried to put all his body weight on Zoro's hands, and kicked using his other leg.

Just when his leg was about to collide with Zoro's head, Zoro dodged it, and released his grip on Sanji's leg.

Normally Sanji would be able to regain his balance, on his feet, but he was drunk and his motor abilities weren't at top notch, so now he was falling, knowing that he would land on his hand and hurt it somehow he tried to move so he would fall on his side, but he didn't have enough time, he closed his eyes tightly waiting for the pain to take over.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

**A/N: Hi guys! I am really sorry I couldn't update this sooner, but don't blame me blame school! And happy Halloween everyone and enjoy your candy! Anyhow, you guys are gonna decide if this story is gonna be 3-4 chapters long or 4-6 chapters long, that was one of the reasons I left it off with a cliffy~ if you think this story has the material to continue, then please inform me if you dont then also inform me! Thank you for reading and a pre-thank you for reviewing! Please have a nice day! And enjoy your Halloween; in the meanwhile I will try to work on a ZoSan Halloween special, something sweet and fluffy! I will try but I will promise nothing.**

**Thank you guys for reviewing you really blew me away! Thank you until next time! Bye Bye Bieee~ **


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